Durham sees jump in residential property transactions

Durham is seeing a strong start this year with a 5.8% increase in residential transactions in January, from 484 in January 2014 to 512.

The Durham Region Association of Realtors also noted a jump in new listings in the region’s housing market.

“We also saw 884 new listings enter the market during January 2015, which is up 2.8% compared to January 2014,” said association president Sandra O’Donohue.

For Rosalind Menary, president of Sutton Group-Heritage Realty, home values are “still going up a wee bit because of the demand. There’s so much demand and there’s not a lot of inventory right now.”

She added that buyers are usually first homebuyers from Toronto and that Durham doesn’t have a land transfer tax.

“I think it will be a strong year. I’d like to see more inventory come in the spring. There is a lot of pent-up demand,” Menary said. “People who lost out in multiple offer situations are now back and they’re out looking.”

Menary’s group has offices across Durham and in York Region.

A market analyst from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said prices in Durham are better than the Greater Toronto Area as a whole.

“Buyers are becoming more and more sensitive, especially about prices,” added Inna Breidburg, CMHC market analyst for the GTA.

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